Sewing machines



Sept. 8, 1959 C. K. DUNKERLY ErAL SEWING MACHINES Filed July l1,v 3.956

Invertzors Cleo K Dunkerly Granuz'l L. Ruhiqy United States Patent sewing machines equipped with curved hook needles and more particularly to improvements in such machines fitted for operation upon one-piece shoeuppers to insert au-shaped seam simulating that employed for joining thetop;piece or tongue and the side piece or vamp of a moccasin shoe upper. I I

In. the manufacture of such one-piece shoe uppers from relatively thin material by conventional methods, difiiculties have heretofore been encountered in forming the U-shapedmoccasin seam. Because the materials used are often-very flexible, the machine operator must possess a high degree of skill in presenting the upper to the machine. Furthermore, the seam tends' to vary in thickne's's alongits length where the material is thin and flexible. In addition, aseam which simulatesaftrue moccasin seam lacks suificient firmness and is therefore prematurely deformed as they shoe is worn.

,To overcome these difficulties,1it.has been suggested that a string or filler. cord be enclosed within the seam. o invention is specifically concerned with the provision of improved means for directing su ch a cordjinto a seam inserted bya curved needle sewing machine and for retainihglthe cord. in place as the stitches are being formed in ama n'ner to prevent interference with the needle. The

apparatus; of our invention is useful in;a sewing machine of Qthe type, showmfor example, in United StatesLetters Patients'iNo. 1,975,914,,granted October 9, 1934; No. 2,221,320," granted November 12, 1940, and No. 2,399,159, granted April 30, 1946, all. upon application of' FrediAshworth. A work support having reentr'ant angular-1y disposed work engaging surfaces extending in :direction of work feed is shown in each of the above pate s, For-sewing a moccasin-type seam in a one-piece slioe uppe'r' to simulate a true moccasinflseam in a two-' part upper, and for purposes of ornamention, the upper ispresented to the sewing machine in the manner disclos'ed inthe last-mentioned patent. A,ridge"simulatingatrue moccasin seam is raised automatically by the we k su'pporting and clamping devices shown in this lateratent and, thereafter theridge is retained by the tension of the thread in the seam. V i

It is a general object of the present invention to provide eans, in a machine of the type above referred to,

forfaccurately directing afiller cord into a simulated" moccasin'sea'm of a one-piece shoe upper, in a manner to improve the appearance of such seam with respect to'uniformityfand eifective ornamentation. A further object islto facilitate the presentationof one-piece shoe upp'ers to a moccasin seam sewing machine While reinforcing the rorinea betw'een" warn/engagingandeoinpressifig surfaces on a work support and a cooperating presser, in which 2. the presser is constructed with an eye through which'the filler cord is passed for guiding the cord into the seam inserted by the stitch-formingdevices. As hereinafter described, the angle between thework-engaging surfaces on the presser is substantially the same as that of the work engaging surfaces of the work support and the cord guiding eye is located at the apex of the angle of said presser. In accordance with prior constructions, the presser is formed with three prongs alined in the direction of work feed, and arranged to be engaged by the work and, pref'-' erably, the filler cord guiding eye is formed in the first prong of the presser, which is located in advance of the point of needle operation, and another prong acts on the I cord beyond the point of needle operation to clamp'the cord against displacement during formation of each stitch. This feature of the invention also includes the formation of a second prong with a truncated shape and in this particular feature the connecting surfaces between adjacent prongs are convexly rounded with smooth curvatures to reduce the possibility of damage to the needle in case of deflection against such surfaces.

The objects, features, and advantages of our invention will be clarified by the followingdetailed description of an illustrative embodiment thereof, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which: n

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation looking from the right and showing asmuch of a moccasin sewing machine as is necessary for an understanding of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail view, .on an enlarged scale andin side elevation, of a presser embodied in the machine of-Fig; 1, as seen from the right of the machine;

Figs. 3 and 4 are end and plan views, respectively, of the presser of Fig. 2;.and I l a V p Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of a'shoe upperhaving a moccasin-type seam withinwhich a cordis enclosed. In the illustrative embodiment of our invention shown in Figs. 1 to' 4, a three-pronged inner work-compressingpresser, indicated at 6, cooperates with a work support indicated at 8, for holding a shoe upper 10, shown in Fig; 5, during the formation of individual stitches of a seam 12. The work support ,8, which consists of two parts, desig= nated as 14 and 16, joined together by screws 18 is secured; on a bracket 2% which is fixedly mounted on the machine frame. Both the work support and the presser are provided with work-engaging surfaces21 disposedwith the same angles of separation with an apex extending inthe direction of work feed. The presser 6 is fixed by screws 22 to the upper end of a curved horn 24 pivoted for'move ment in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 1 andcorre-; sponding to the horn 40 of the machine disclosed; in United States Letters Patent No. 1,975,914 above identified. I t The machine is provided with conventionally operatinglock stitch forming devices comprising an awl 26, a curved V hook needle 28,-a loop spreader 30, and a-loop "taker or shuttle 32. Work feed isin the direction of the arrow in Fig. 4 and is accomplished by the awl 26 whichpierces the upper 10, advances it toward the sewing point to "bring the awl perforation into line with the needle 28, is withdrawn from the work, and returned to its 'starting'point. Both the needle and awl' move across the angles of the work engaging surfaces 21 to enter and emerge from the same side of the upper supported by the Work support. The horn 24 swings slightly outwardly to move the presser 6 out of compressing engagement with the'work to'permit' the latter to be advanced by the awl'26z It'is particularly importannin forming'a cord filled moccasin type'seain onf a curved hookneedle'machindto "avoid injuring or sever ing the cord by the jawl or by engagement with themee f as they 'pen'etr'atewor'k'. In oriler t'o mama'- seaside uniform appearance it is also necessary that each stitch enclose the cord which is thereby pressed against the inner apex of the ridge. It will thus be appreciated that the cord must be under constant control of the presser to eliminate the possibilities either that the cord will be cut by the awl, or that the stitches will intersect the cord or will be formed between the cord and the inner apex in the shoe upper.

The presser 6 is provided with a first cord guiding prong 34, having at its apex an eye 36, a second truncated intermediate prong 38, and a third cord pressing prong 40, the latter only being disposed beyond the point of needle operation. By being threaded through the eye 36 the cord 42 is guided accurately into the inside of the ridge beyond the line of the seam to be inserted. The prong 40 has a slightly flattened, or, alternatively, grooved tip 41 which presses the cord firmly into the ridge of the seam 12 as the stitches are being formed. The pressing action of the prong 40 prevents random movement of the cord 42 and thus permits the formation of a highly uniform ridge. The three prongs 34, 38 and 40 have a profile which is substantially complementary to that of the reentrant work engaging surfaces 21 of the Work support 8. Thus, the truncated prong 38 aids considerably in gripping and forming the upper adjacent the sewing point, while permitting clearance for the awl 26 with minimum motion of the presser 6. The slots or spaces between adjacent prongs are formed with sufiicient depth to permit passage of the awl and the needle behind the cord 42, thus protecting the cord against injury or severance. Convexly rounded surfaces 43 at the bottoms of the slots provide guide surfaces adjacent to the paths of the awl 26 and the needle 28 which greatly reduce the possibility of breakage in the event that the awl or needle is deflected or bent slightly outwardly. Taper of the presser 6 in the direction of feed, as indicated more particularly by the lines 44 in Fig. 3, facilitates closure of the ridge at the point of needle operation.

From the foregoing description many minor variations of our invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the guide eye 36 need not be" located adjacent the tip of the prong 34, but may be formed closer to the region in which the presser 6 is attached to the horn 24 and the cord 42 guided in a shallow groove over the prong 34. Accordingly, it is not intended to limit our invention to the arrangement and combination already described and shown for purposes of illustration, but rather to rely upon the definitions contained in the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for sewing a moccasin seam in a onepiece shoe upper having a work support provided with angularly disposed work-engaging surfaces extending in the direction ofwork feed, a horn mounted for movement toward and away from the work support, and stitchforming devices including a curved needle movable across the angle of said surfaces to enter and emerge from the same side of the upper supported by the work support, the combination of an internal presser on the horn, saidinternal presser having work-engaging surfaces disposed at substantially the same angle as the work-engaging surfaces of said support to compress the material of the work between its work-engaging surfaces and those of the work support, and also having an eye means through which a cord passes for guiding the cord into the seam inserted by the stitch-forming devices.

2. In a machine for sewing a moccasin scam in a onepiece shoe upper having a work support provided with angularly disposed work-engaging surfaces extending in the direction of work feed, a horn mounted for movement toward and away from the work support, and stitch-forming devices including a curved needle movable across the angle of said surfaces to enter and emerge from the same side of the upper supported by the work support, the combination of an internal presser on the horn, said internal presser having work-engaging surfaces disposed at substantially the same angle as the Work-engaging surfaces of said support to compress the material of the work between its work-engaging surfaces and those of the work support, and also having an eye means at the apex of the workengaging surfaces of said presser for guiding a cord into the seam inserted by the stitch-forming devices.

3. In a machine for sewing a moccasin seam in a onepiece shoe upper having a work support provided with angularly disposed work-engaging surfaces extending in the direction of work feed, a horn mounted for movement toward and away from the work support, and stitch-forming devices including a curved work-penetrating instrument movable across the angle of said surfaces to enter and emerge from the same side of the upper supported by the work support, the combination of an internal presser on the horn, said internal presser having work-engaging surfaces disposed at substantially the same angle as the work-engaging surfaces of said support to compress the material of the work between its work-engaging surfaces and those of the work support, said internal presser having a first prong in advance of the point of operation of the penetrating instrument, having an eye means through which a filler cord is guided into the seam, and also having another prong formed with a tip portion means which engages said cord adjacent to the point of penetrating instrument operation to clamp the cord against the upper during the formation of each stitch.

4. In a machine for sewing a moccasin scam in a onepiece shoe upper having a work support provided with angularly disposed work-engaging surfaces extending in the direction of work feed, a horn mounted for movement toward and from the work support, and stitch-forming devices including a curved work-penetrating instrument movable across the angle of said surfaces to enter and emerge from the same side of the upper supported by the work support, the combination of an internal presser on the horn, said internal presser having work-engaging surfaces disposed at substantially the same angle as the workengaging surfaces of said support to compress the material of the work between its work-engaging surfaces and those of the work support, said internal presser having a first prong in advance of the point of operation of the penetrat ing instrument, having an eye means through which a filler cord is guided into the seam, and also having another prong formed with a tip portion means which engages said cord adjacent to the point of penetrating instrument operation to clamp the cord against the upper during the formation of each stitch, the space between said prongs having a depth greater than the combined thicknesses of the cord and the work-penetrating instrument to enable the passage of the work penetrating instrument without engaging the filler cord.

5. In a machine for sewing a moccasin seam in a onepiece shoe upper having a work support provided with angularly disposed work-engaging surfaces extending in the direction of work feed, a horn mounted for movement toward and from the work support and stitch-forming devices including a curved needle and a curved awl movable across the angle of said surfaces to enter and emerge from the same side of the upper supported by the work support, the combination of an internal presser on the horn, said internal presser having work-engaging surfaces disposed at substantially the same angle as the work-engaging surfaces of said support and three prongs in spaced relation with one another along the length of the scam, the first prong having an eye means through which a cord is guided into the seam, the second prong being truncated and shorter than the other prongs thereby permitting work feeding movement of the awl with a minimum movement of the horn away from the work support and located in advance of the point of needle operation, and the third prong being located beyond the point of needle operation in the direction of work feed and having a tip means engaging said cord adjacent to the point of needle operation during the formation of each stitch.

6. In a machine for sewing a moccasin seam in a onepiece shoe upper having a work support provided with angularly disposed work-engaging surfaces extending in the direction of work feed, a horn mounted for movement toward and away from the work support, and stitch-forming devices including a curved needle and a curved awl movable across the angle of said surfaces to enter and emerge from the same side of the upper supported by the work support, the combination of an inner presser on the horn, said internal presser having work-engaging surfaces disposed at substantially the same angle as the workengaging surfaces of said support and three prongs in spaced relation with one another along the length of the seam, the first prong having an eye means through which a cord is guided into the seam, the second prong being truncated and shorter than the other prongs thereby permitting work feeding movement of the awl with a minimum movement of the horn away from the work support and located in advance of the point of needle operation, the third prong being located beyond the point of needle operation in the direction of work feed and having a tip means engaging said cord adjacent to the point of needle operation during the formation of each stitch, and convexly rounded surfaces between adjacent prongs to avoid damage to the needle in case of deflection against the presser.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,508,895 Patzer Sept. 16, 1924 1,706,633 Roberts Mar. 26, 1929 1,916,388 Richards July 4, 1933 2,337,631 Whitaker Dec. 28, 1943 2,399,159 Ashworth Apr. 30, 1946 2,658,464 Greco Nov. 10, 1953 

